Chapter 26: Philippines
26 Philippines 26.1 Summary of Coal Industry 26.1.1 ROLE OF COAL IN THE REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES Currently, coal-fired thermal power plants remain the number one producer of electricity and accounted for a total of 5,568 megawatts (MW), or 33 percent, of the Republic of the Philippines’ total installed power generating capacity in 2012 (PDOE, 2014a). The Philippines consumed 16.3 million tonnes (Mmt) of coal in 2012, around 75 percent of which was for power generation (EIA, 2014; Ocampo, 2012). The Philippines relies on imports to meet coal demand, importing 10.6 Mmt from Indonesia and 277 thousand tonnes from Vietnam in 2011 (Ocampo, 2012). The Philippine Energy Plan 2012-2030 (PEP) projects coal demand to increase by more than 70 percent between 2012 and 2030 (PDOE, 2014b). The country’s recoverable coal reserves, as shown in Table 26-1, are estimated at 315 Mmt, with most reserves as lignite. Total coal resources compiled by the Geothermal and Coal Resources Development Division (GCRDD) of the Department of Energy of the Philippines, are estimated at a minimum of 2,268.4 Mmt (USGS, 2006). The Philippines produced 8.0 Mmt of coal in 2012, the highest annual production to date. Coal production is increasing rapidly, more than doubling between 2008 and 2012 (EIA, 2014). The PEP projects domestic coal production to continue to increase, reaching more than 11 Mmt in 2015 and more than 12.5 Mmt in 2020 (PDOE, 2014b). Table 26-1. Philippines’ Coal Reserves and Production Sub- Anthracite & bituminous Total Global Rank Indicator Bituminous & Lignite (million tonnes) (# and %) (million tonnes) (million tonnes) Estimated Proved Coal Reserves 41 275 315 41 (0.04%) (2011) Annual Coal Production (2012) 8.0 0.0 8.0 29 (0.10%) Source: EIA (2014) The combined lignite and sub-bituminous coal reserves of the Philippines, including indicated and inferred reserves, are about 1,899.2 Mmt, which make up about 84 percent of the total coal reserves of the Philippines.
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